


Pretend?

by Imnonarcissist



Category: Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Gen, Multi, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-24
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:46:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23823298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Imnonarcissist/pseuds/Imnonarcissist
Summary: You have gained your fair amount of admirers throughout your years studying at Hogwarts. In your sixth year though, it became all too much especially with Valentine's day approaching.Fake Dating AU- some things I mention in this aren't canon- but I do mention certain events that are canon- this is my take and or twist to the valentine's event/side quest (kind of)
Relationships: Penny Haywood & Player Character, Penny Haywood/Player Character, Penny Haywood/Reader
Comments: 22
Kudos: 126





	1. Shall We Date?

You were currently eating breakfast at The Great Hall with Rowan, Chiara, and Tonks with you. You sat at the Hufflepuff table, while your other friends were all respectively seated at their house tables. As much as you wanted to catch up with Barnaby and the others, you knew that you'd have plenty of time to talk to them later because Andre initiated another study session at the library. This time, you hoped that Madam Pince won't kick you out of the library again since you all end up discussing other topics that don't relate to your Charms or Herbology lessons.

It's like at any moment, you'd suddenly lose your library privileges.

You sat in between Tonks and Rowan, while Chiara was on the other side of the table. At first, you and your Hufflepuff friends had settled down in the common room, waiting for Penny. She came out of her room, braids, and hair tousled. Her tie was undone while she had her robes hanging over her shoulder. You and your friends shot her an odd look, but she had told you guys that she'd catch up at The Great Hall later.

You were eating your bacon and eggs in peace while you chatted enthusiastically with Tonks about their prank shenanigans with Tulip. Tonks was moving and throwing her arms up in the air, making exaggerated gestures about that one time when her dungbomb accidentally blew up at her face while she was carefully hiding them in the bookshelves at the library. She, of course, was caught by Madam Pince and instantly lost house points and was sent straight away to detention that afternoon. Chiara was giggling along with you while Rowan, on the other hand, were rolling their eyes so hard, they'd almost roll back to oblivion.

You didn't know why, but most of you simply bonded over the fact that you enjoyed messing around with the head of the library. Tulip and Tonks most especially are the leading rascals and chaotic pranksters of your group. You joined them from time to time to take your mind off of stressful baggage.

You were enjoying your conversation with the girls until someone tapped you on your shoulder. You jolted at the feeling and whipped your head, squinting at the person who had just interrupted your chat with your friends.

A boy who was in your house as well, had his face flushed. You assumed that he was a year older than you. His raven haired locks hid his other eye while he fiddled with his fingers, stuttering all together as he had a hard time to form his words.

"W-Would you like to go out with me this Valentine's?"

You instantly felt your face heating up but hoped that neither the boy nor your friends noticed. Valentine's day was just around the corner and this had led you to many instances that were very similar to this. This time, you didn't know if you were flushing because you were surprised, or just flat out embarrassed.

You went quiet for a few seconds, but before the awkward tension started to linger in the air, Tonks cleared her throat rather loudly because you had blanked out for a bit. You particularly had difficulty with these kinds of situations.

You being a Hufflepuff and all turned him down nicely. The boy smiled at you sadly but thanked you for acknowledging him. He soon ushered away, not wanting to gain attention from other people.

Unfortunately, students were already eyeing your group right before the older boy had approached you. They were muttering amongst themselves, but they were not doing a very good job at being subtle since you noticed them right away.

You paid attention back to your food instead, beginning to get flustered. This was starting to get a tad bit infuriating for you. People had been paying attention to you since you were a first-year here at Hogwarts. You were well known because of your brother's reputation and expulsion. Of course, you were rash enough to tamper with the cursed vaults alongside your friends.

As much as how you whined about you not being like your brother to countless people, many had still pointed out the similarities with you both. Especially since you were also somewhat following Jacob's footsteps on figuring out the mysteries of the cursed vaults.

You suddenly remembered something silly. When you were eleven, you thought that you'd be determined enough to venture through each vault alone just to find clues as to where your brother had gone off to.

You had unexpectedly met Rowan Khanna and before you even knew it, you were glued to each other by the hip. Both of you had been there for each other, and you couldn't be more thankful.

Soon enough, you met Merula Snyde. She was annoying to deal with through each of your classes. Especially since she had tampered with your cauldron during Potions, and because she basically tried to kill you and Rowan by faking a letter and locking you up in a room which had a Devil's Snare in it.

You tolerated her in certain situations, but not when she was belittling Rowan or Ben. You didn't mind whenever she threw insults at you. Sometimes her words stung, but you quickly brushed them off and instead focused on whatever you were trying to do.

And then, you had met more people who would soon be an addition to your friend group. In third-year though, Merula's attitude was mellowing down. In the end, she too joined (she actually forced herself in your group) in your planning sessions in the great hall and sometimes even in the library.

Merula became your friend in the end. She even reconciled with Tulip and slowly proceeded to befriend the others as well. Her old tendencies would show up once in a while, sputtering out harsh words while being completely oblivious of what the others were feeling.

Barnaby and Tulip occasionally helped her with that though.

Dumbledore and the professors confronting you about the vaults weren't avoidable as well. The headmaster himself warned and had given you advice about the dangers, and implications of furthering your investigation with the cursed vaults.

Did you listen?

No. You were already so close. So close on finding your brother, and figuring out the wretched mysteries of these vaults.

From then on, you became popular. You even gained yourself the nickname, 'Curse-Breaker'. Many of the students had different thoughts and opinions of you though.

Countless rumors flourished throughout the whole school about you. Penny was the first one to confront you about it. Since she was quite popular, she heard most rumors and secrets from her fellow popular peers the most. You told her not to worry about it because you were too busy worrying about the vaults to listen to shady rumors or to be disturbed by the attention that people were giving you.

So why was _this_ kind of attention making you feel weird?

You suddenly feel a burning sensation on the side of your head. You then turn to look at Chiara and Tonks who both had amused looks on their faces, but the Metamorphmagus jabbed your arm.

"Well, well, well (Y/N)! Quite famous these days." She wiggled her eyebrows at you and you playfully shoved her back.

You grumbled and rubbed your arm, "Err-- come on help me out. I'm starting to get..." You paused, figuring out the right words to describe your feelings.

"Uneasy?" Rowan finished the sentence for you.

You looked at them quickly, then back to Tonks and Chiara, "Uneasy." You repeated and went back to stabbing your now cold bacon and eggs.

You bit down on your food when Chiara spoke up. "It is unsettling though." She placed a finger on her lips before continuing, "I know you're not the type of person to be suddenly embarrassed by this kind of situation, (Y/N). What's on your mind?" She asked innocently.

"I really don't mind the attention. I'm already used to other people talking and making bad assumptions about me. But this?" You waved your arms in the air, "—Ugh, this is a different kind of attention."

"You mean being admired and _fancied_?" Rowan made sure to emphasize the word 'fancied' which made you cringe by just hearing it. You nodded at them still and began to finish the remaining food left on your plate.

Tonks snorted at you, "Aw come on, (Y/N)! It is understandable why they'd fancy you though." She placed her arm around your neck and grinned at you. You gave her a suspicious look, "What do you mean by that?" You asked, curious as to what she would say.

Tonks rolled her eyes, "Puberty hit you hard."

You blushed almost immediately, pulling away from the other girls hold, "Tonks!" You exclaimed loudly and began to frown at the laughing troublemaker.

"She is right though." Rowan murmured as a matter of factly. You managed to hear them.

"Rowan!" You proceeded to shout their name in disbelief.

Chiara chuckled at your reactions, and you quickly looked at her to see if she too would voice out her thoughts about you. The other girl brought her hands up defensively, not wanting to see you having an outburst.

"I still remember you during our third year, (Y/N). You and your baby-faced looks made you out of character for a person who had a wild and adventurous side." Tonks said while holding back her laughs.

Rowan then added, "But look at you now. Looking like an absolute catch." They smirked at you and took a bite of their turkey sandwich.

You groaned and covered your face. You didn't like thinking about your appearance and or looks, especially when you thought about how ridiculous you looked like when you were twelve or thirteen. Your voice changed from then on, and your facial features started to mature.

There were times when you looked at yourself in the mirror and thought, _'I could definitely pull off a cute person next door look'_ but you shook your head with how ridiculous you were.

"How many times have you been asked out for Valentine's, (Y/N)?" Chiara queried. She looked as if she genuinely wanted to know.

Rowan rolled their eyes and answered the silver-haired girl for you, "I lost count, Chi. Honestly, I'm already tired of seeing (Y/N)'s admirers fawning over them."

You poked at your best friend's cheek, "I'm tired too, Ro. I constantly have to get asked out, but I only end up rejecting them afterwards."

"Wait. Now that I've thought about it, why haven't you accepted anyone's invite?"

You froze for a moment, averting your eyes from Tonks, and pretended to not hear her question at all. You didn't want to tell them, because you knew that they would tease you about it.

It was silly and absolutely laughable.

"Merlin, don't tell me—"

Oh no. They figured it out.

"Do you still fancy Penny?"

You felt your heart almost wanting to explode, while your brain had suddenly stopped processing your friend's words. Your stomach dropped though and you grumbled at the thought of you still not getting over this whole Penny situation.

Yes, you had asked Penny out to the Celestial Ball. It was a friendly date though, and you had not thought much of it at first. But seeing the blonde in her light makeup and dress (which was perfect for twirling, by the way) just blew your breath away.

You couldn't sleep properly that night since you kept repeating the events which had happened at the ball. Most importantly, you couldn't take your mind off of Penny.

Since then, you became hyper-aware whenever she was around. The way her eyes lingered at you for a bit longer, the way she would always clasp your hands reassuringly whenever you were troubled, and the way she'd compliment you from time to time. It drove you up against the wall for weeks!

You asked her to go on a date with you when you were in your fifth year at Hogwarts. You wouldn't just forget about that time when Professor Snape read your rather embarrassing note out loud for the whole class to hear. The note was intended for Penny after all.

The news spread like wildfire, and every single person at the student body was suddenly interested in your love life.

Penny had agreed to go out with you still. It was awkward for the two of you, because other than talking about the vaults and school-related matters, you two just couldn't find another topic to converse about.

Tonks and Charlie were a great help. They really were your number one supporters. They supported you so much, that they spied on you and Penny while you were dating. They weren't very stealthy nor did they try to disguise themselves in any way possible. But after Tonks had caused a ruckus, your date with Penny was cut short.

Later in the evening, you and your date met up in the courtyard. Penny was stalling, making up excuses about wanting to gaze at the stars. You followed her lead though but eventually grew tired of waiting for a shooting star to show up again. You then confronted her about your whole date situation.

Penny sighed and gave you a forlorn look. She was apologizing about how the date was cut short, but you followed it up with you apologizing to her as well. You knew that you could've done some things differently that would have lead to a much better end result for your date.

Easy enough to say, your evening was well spent with the blonde. You both had gazed at the stars under the night sky. You even held hands!

The next day, everything was back to normal. You proceeded to pretend like the whole ' _date_ ' thing didn't happen between you and Penny because the blue-eyed girl made no mention of it afterwards. You were upset but understood her situation. You figured that maybe she had just accepted your invitation out of kindness and that she thought that your whole date was awkward for her to talk about with the rest of your group. Maybe when she meant that she liked you back, it was in a friendly manner too?

It was a good thing that your friends didn't try to bombard you with endless questions. You at least expected for Merula to endlessly tease you about it, but perhaps she was being held back by Tulip? She was her impulse control alongside Barnaby and Ismelda after all. You thought that Tonks and Charlie probably filled them in with their disastrous attempt of spying on you.

From then on, you strayed away from the idea of relationships and dates because you somehow knew that you messed up (sort of) your first attempt.

Still, once in a while, your heart ached for Penny.

You heard fingers snapping, "(Y/N)? You still here with us?"

You brought your gaze up to see Rowan snapping their fingers right in front of you, while the other two gave you a worried look.

Tonks scratched her nape, "Sorry 'bout that, (Y/N). Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned her—"

"Mentioned who?"

You and your friends collectively perked up from hearing the chipper voice. You looked over your shoulder to see Penny, holding up a plate on one hand, with her notes and books on the other. She certainly appeared to have taken her time with fixing herself.

You stood up instinctively and began to help her with her books, setting them carefully aside on the table.

Penny beamed at you, "Thanks for the help, (Y/N). Those books were getting pretty heavy." You muttered a quick no problem and proceeded to go back to your seat. You then wanted to smack yourself for being insistent and such.

Penny sat down beside Chiara and placed her plate down. She began to chop her sausages when she looked back at Tonks giving her a knowing look that said, _'continue'_ _._ The Metamorphmagus became uncomfortable under the blonde's gaze, but Rowan coughed and diverted your group's attention onto them.

"You didn't miss a thing, Penny. We were talking about (Y/N)'s mum who sent a howler at them just this morning. Their mum said some interesting, but embarrassing information so they're just sulking about it as of now."

You wanted to thank Rowan for somehow covering up the subject matter. Your best friend always did help you out through tricky situations.

"Mmm." Penny hummed as a response, still munching down on her meal. You figured that she wouldn't press any further, so you gave out a relieved sigh.

You shot Tonks a glare, but the other girl merely shrugged and went ahead to make fun of you and your supposed 'Howler' incident to cover her slip up earlier.

But before you even knew it, another student had approached your table. You again sat straight and put up a fake smile as the girl seemed to be preparing her speech, a bouquet of flowers on her hand. She had a rather cocky grin and you tried to hold back on making an unpleasant face. You disliked these kinds of people who think that they could simply woo you over with their charms.

"Penny Haywood." She announced, her voice loud enough to steal everybody's attention at The Great Hall.

Huh, wait—

The girl then shoved the bouquet of flowers straight up to Penny's face. You failed to notice the box of chocolates that were also neatly placed in the center of the bouquet. "I, Brair Wood, would like to take you on a date this Valentine's." Her whole demeanor basically shouted the notorious Gryffindor house.

"Will you accept?"

The tension in the air made you and your group shrink back on your seats, not to mention that everyone's eyes were literally on Penny. You watched the blonde's unreadable expression, but you saw a flash of hesitation before she finally spoke up to Brair.

"I appreciate you for this sweet gesture, Brair." She paused, eyes overflowing with sincerity and warmth. "But I'm already going with someone else. I'm sorry."

You nearly choked on air. Relieved that she wouldn't have to go with Briar, but disappointed with the fact that she already had a date.

Penny managed to still smile despite the whispers and murmurs all around her, while Briar, on the other hand, was clearly having a minor shutdown. Scratching her nape, she still gave the flowers and box of chocolates to Penny. Briar muttered a quick ' _it's okay_.' directed to your fellow housemate before swiftly turning around, sulking in disappointment.

The other students then continued on with their routines, quickly brushing off the scene that had just happened. Surprised that the girl left ever so easily, Penny sniffed on the attractive set of flowers and took out the box of chocolates at the same time.

"For a second there, I thought that she'd ask for (Y/N)'s hand in marriage." Chiara joked, casually breaking the silence.

Rowan huffed, "Tell me about it. I was ready to walk out of here right there and then."

"Oh come on!" You retorted and crossed your arms.

"Nevermind that — who in Merlin's beard are you going with, Haywood?" Tonks stood up, slamming her hands on the table as she demanded an answer from her friend.

Penny slightly winced from the sudden outburst but waved her hand to tell the Metamorphmagus to calm down. "Quiet down, Tonks." The potioneer shushed her. She carefully placed down Briar's gift then looked both ways before turning back to the pink-haired teen. "I'm not going with anybody." She whispers.

You all sighed in relief while Tonks sat back down.

"Then what was that just now?" Rowan asked as they placed their hand under their chin, eager to hear her explanation.

Penny's lips drew a thin line, "If it isn't obvious already, I'm being constantly asked out. What does a girl have to do to get her work done here?" She tugged on her braids in irritation and you held back an amused chuckle.

Penny then babbled about not being able to do her essays in the library nor the courtyard because her 'wooer's' seemed to find her in every corner. She mentioned doing half of her school works late at night instead, which somewhat resulted in her disheveled appearance this morning.

"I've had it." Penny dragged her words and groaned at the same time, which was very out of character of her.

"Don't let your nerves get to you, Pens." You comforted her since you were practically in the same boat. Of course, Penny would have people swooning over her, she was one of the most popular girls at Hogwarts. Her charismatic and friendly attitude naturally drew people in.

But why did people seem attracted to _you?_

You were deep in thought again.

Maybe they're just trying to get with you so that they'd gain popularity. Your reputation would certainly benefit anyone, let alone the person that you'd date.

You began to realize that nobody outside of your friend group will ever truly know you for—well— the real _you._ You considered yourself as a guarded person with walls up too high. But that was before. It's been slowly crumbling throughout your past few years here in Hogwarts because you learned new things with each person that you met and got to know on a personal level.

You were less restricted and oppressed unlike at your home where you were constantly pressured to find your brother. You were willingly doing it at first, but you realized that basically wasting your time and endangering your friends and possibly the whole school was enough for you to break. You didn't want to be chained up to just doing this until the end of your days here, you wanted to actually be a normal student with normal everyday occurrences. As much as you liked feeling the adrenaline and excitement whenever you faced extreme life-threatening events, you sometimes pondered over the thought about having a normal functioning family and an ideal school year without worrying about the vaults.

"Well, since you and (Y/N) are in the same horrid situation, how about you two start fake dating?" Tonks suggested, but you immediately noticed the gleam of mischief in her eyes.

You stepped on her foot underneath the table.

"Oi!"

Chiara's eyes grew wide, "That is a brilliant idea!"

"Brilliant is my middle name." Tonks managed to sputter that out, hissing in pain.

Rowan hummed in agreement, "It could work, I'm sure of it. With you two being an item, your admirers will surely leave you alone. Just not certain on when you two should stop your fake relationship though."

You grumbled, "Thanks for the suggestion, but I'm really not down for it— hell, Penny hasn't even said a thing yet!" You gestured over her, the blonde obviously deep in her thoughts.

"Let's leave it like this alright? We can handle ourselves."

Rowan raised a brow, "You obviously not wanting this kind of attention, and Penny not being able to do her regular routines would say otherwise."

Penny raised her hand, interrupting your quarrel. "Wait, I'm considering it." She stated, but you saw how mildly unsure of herself she was.

Your face was beginning to heat up in irritation. "Penny, you can't be absolutely serious about this."

She looked at you, her deep blue eyes meeting your own. "We've dated before remember? I'm sure we could pull it off."

You were stunned. It was like someone had cast the spell 'Stupefy' on you before you could even act on it. This was the first time that she had mentioned your date right in front of you and the others.

You bit down on your lip harshly before replying, "I know that, but what else would everyone think? News does spread like wildfire around here." You instinctively brought your hands up to your lips, biting down on your nails. It was a nervous habit that you had gained from relentless nerve-wracking circumstances.

Rowan slapped your arm away. You were about to whine when Penny's hands slid across the table, placing it on top of yours. You sat perfectly still, not wanting to ruin the moment.

"At this point, I probably wouldn't care about what the rest would think. I love you, (Y/N). You're one of my best friends." She squeezed your hand to soothe you. "So, how about it? I could kiss you on your cheek from time to time, you'd bring me to my classes, then I'll be stopping by to watch you play during your Quidditch practices. It'll be easy to play along, especially when it's including the both of us."

You were about to interrupt her, but she wouldn't let you. She leaned closer to you, "Trust me on this one. The sooner our suitors get out of our hair, the better."

You were a mess at this point. The thought of hanging around more with Penny with the excuse of you dating was like your dreams coming true. You instantly pushed that thought at the back of your mind in a flash. If you were going to do this with her, you needed to restrain yourself from your own feelings.

You two would just be pretending after all.

You opened your mouth, your companions anticipating for your final input.

"F-Fine."

Penny flashed a smile, giggling.

"I'll do everything I can to be your best fake girlfriend."


	2. Different

The Metamorphmagus nearly wanted to flip the table out of joy and excitement because her recommendation was taken into consideration. Chiara laughed at the girl's antics but reminded her to quiet down because few of the Hufflepuff first years either moved their plates and belongings inches away from your group or just flat out left the scene.

You merely rolled your eyes at the pink-haired teen's rather ecstatic reaction. She was, after all, your number one supporter when it came to your love life. Despite Rowan being your closest confidant and friend, they were the exact opposite of Tonks whenever they gave out thoughts of your complicated predicament. They simply lectured and went on about you not having enough courage of confronting your feelings. They even suggested that you reach out for that so-called 'Gryffindor' bravery deep inside of you.

You somehow always end up bickering, with the addition of throwing books and smacking rolled up parchments on each other's faces. It was all in good fun though of course.

"Alright lovebirds, how is this plan exactly going to initiate?" Rowan asked, crossing their arms.

"You two only have three days until Valentine's day you know," Tonks added, crossing her arms as well to seem serious about the whole situation.

"A grand proposal perhaps?"

You narrowed your eyes at Chiara, but she instead shrugged nonchalantly.

Penny, however, shook her head at the suggestion. "Well, it certainly doesn't have to be that grand. Knowing (Y/N) and I, we already garner enough attention from most of the student body. A big gesture wouldn't be necessary."

You nodded in agreement, "I second that. Walking by the halls already gain me enough unwanted attention anyway."

"Fine, alright. How about you take them by surprise then?"

"What are you implying, Rowan?"

"It is easy enough to say that you both have dated during our fifth year right?"

You and Penny nodded your heads in unison, waiting for your fellow housemate to continue their explanation.

"And so everybody at Hogwarts already knows that, no doubt about it. Let's just make up that you two never really stopped with one simple date and eventually let your relationship blossom in secret, without anybody else–neither your friends knowing as well." Rowan finished their statement, smiling smugly.

You leaned back at your seat, suddenly feeling weird about it. That idea was very well fleshed out and it would be a shame to not apply it to fool your admirers. You began to slightly grumble, "That's well thought out, Ro. It would explain why we're unavailable for the rest."

Silence fell on your group.

You closed your eyes and began to think this through. It would work, of course, there was no doubt about it. But your feelings for the adorable blonde were at stake here. You needed to act carefully from now on.

You opened your eyes, directing your attention to Penny who sat across you. You slid your hand carefully across the table and didn't hesitate to place your hand on top of hers. Moving slowly and surely, not wanting to make her uncomfortable, you intertwined your fingers with hers.

Warmth.

It was impossible for a human being to have steam blowing off from their head, but you were sure that it was happening to you. You had begun to be embarrassed with your sudden act, but you shook it off.

This type of activity was only the beginning after all.

This was you testing the waters.

You looked into her eyes directly and gulped. "Is this alright?"

You could've sworn that you saw her cheeks tint a bit of red. "Yes, this is just fine."

A cough erupted from beside you, a reminder that you and Penny weren't the only ones present in the Great Hall. You immediately drew your hand back and placed it back on your lap, the warm feeling from earlier still lingering from your palm and fingers. "Sorry, that was practice."

Rowan nodded at this, "Good. Congratulations to my dear buddy, (Y/N) for actually taking initiative!"

You rolled your eyes at them, then briefly regained your composure. Straightening your back, you continued, "Then it's settled. This will go on for the next four days. After Valentine's Day, it's over."

Tonks was vibrating from excitement, "Yep! That's the plan."

Chiara went along with it, drinking from her cup of water. "Hopefully nothing goes wrong with this idea of yours, Tonks." She said, almost teasingly.

Penny giggled, "Her proposals are always bizarre, but it surely does go right in the end. I trust Tonks, and (Y/N) as well."

An abrupt and rather inhumane gasp was heard from your group, " I'm almost late for Transfigurations!" Rowan screeched and threw themselves off from their seat and ran, leaving you and the others behind.

You felt laughter bubbling from deep inside you, then it struck you.

You had the same class as Rowan.

_

Needless to say, making it seem like you and Penny were dating was hard at first.

When the plan had begun to initiate, you settled on keeping this whole fiasco strictly with your circle of Hufflepuff housemates only. As much as you wanted to blabber about it with your other friends, you were sure that there would be a possibility of them accidentally slipping up. Yes, you trusted them, but you had already known them long enough for you to figure out that they too arguably had their occasional moments of not being able to control themselves.

Despite Tonks being with you on the agreement, you promised yourself to keep an eye out for her, since there were times when she just couldn't help herself. Rowan was calmer when they nodded in agreement, but you already predicted that they would tease you endlessly about the situation that you were currently in. You had your hopes high with Chiara though. No questions were needed on that.

The supposed girl that you were pretending to date was true to her word. She came to your Quidditch practices every time she had the chance to, periodically shouting or cheering your name and the Hufflepuff team. Quite funny, despite you being on your best attitude and discipline during practices, Penny had easily distracted you this time.

Penny visiting and cheering you on with your games weren't out of the ordinary, but it felt different this time around.

Skye criticized your every move from then on and kept an eye out on you, repeating this statement over and over, "You're our Seeker. Get your head from out of the gutter and stop letting your girlfriend distract you!"

Orion did not mind at all which was odd, but you paid no mind.

He was always odd.

Murphy, on the other hand, had begun to ramble about his calculations and statistics endlessly. You were used to it though and found comfort in the older boy's enthusiasm.

"There is a 75.8% probability of you not being able to catch that Golden Snitch if you are constantly distracted by that potioneer! Also, I am 90% sure that Skye has been breathing down on your neck because she is concerned about your state of mind and emotions, and not because she's letting her anger get the best of her." He paused, placing his hand under his chin and you assumed that his mind wandered off a bit. "Perhaps I was wrong, I am 55.5% sure that she _IS_ letting her anger get the best of her. My bad."

-

You accompanied the blonde to her different classes from time to time while you carried her rather heavy belongings. They varied from empty potion bottles and needed ingredients for Potions to ridiculously heavy textbooks and an abundance of papers to her other classes. People, in the beginning, didn't mind your presence while you tagged along with Penny to get her to her subjects.

Arriving in front of the History of Magic classroom, you noticed that the doors were open and wide enough for the whole class to see you arriving with Penny. You shared this disappointingly sleep-inducing class with her. Hesitantly stepping inside of the room, you were abruptly yanked back from your tie to face none other than Penny.

Standing on the tips of her toes, she gave you a chaste kiss on the cheek which caught you off guard. Rushing past you without another word, she sat by Barnaby and Tonks while she laid her paper and quill down.

You brought your hand to your cheeks, the softness of her lips still lingering. Without realizing it, everyone else in the room had their eyes on both you and Penny. You were convinced that the unexpected yet innocent kiss had not only shaken the students but also woke them up from boredom.

Coincidentally, you also shared this class with your other friends as well.

Barnaby gave you a confused stare, processing if the incident that he had witnessed did indeed happen. Tulip merely smirked at you with the addition of Tonks doing her classical finger guns. Ben had his jaw agape. Rowan kindly scooted over their seat, then began patting the space for you to sit on. You didn't bother looking over to the reaction of the other, as they either had confused or shocked expressions.

You heard gagging noises from behind you as you sat. You glanced over to that direction, concern evident on your face only to scowl at none other than Merula. "Barf." The Slytherin murmured and you stuck your tongue out at her. She does the same, and before you were able to counterattack with another childish move, Rowan flicked your forehead.

"Merlin's beard, you two can be annoying brats."

The class went along as usual with Professor Binns dropping dead on his desk within thirty minutes of class discussion, sleeping once again. You scanned the room, only to see some of your friends to be taking naps as well. Rowan exhaled, disappointed once more with this class. "I'm not in the right frame of mind to be substituting this time around." They stated, twirling their quill.

You patted their back, "How about changing things up for today?"

"If you suggest that I take a nap as well, then you are out of your mind."

You frowned at this but didn't want to pry any further as your best friend was already in their world, trying their hardest to self-study a month's worth of missed lessons.

Out of the blue, you felt a heavy arm around your shoulder and you nearly suffocated from the contact. You began to smell the familiar yet overpowering scent of a perfume.

"I never knew you had your eyes still set on Penny Haywood, (Y/N). " The boy spoke in a hushed tone, not wanting to garner the attention of anybody else nearby.

"Diego?"

He released his grip on you and took a step back. He grinned at you, which seemed genuine at first, but you knew that there was something else behind it.

Right, of course. He mentioned Penny.

It was apparent that he too fancied the popular Hufflepuff.

"We—"

You drew out, hesitating for a brief moment. "We've been keeping it secret."

Diego leaned forward for a moment, looking at you with careful eyes.

Your hands slightly shook from under the table. Did he read you that easily? Were you that much of an open book? No matter, you were always a bad liar.

He finally sighed, almost defeatedly, and shrugged. "I figured." And with that, he turned around to go sit at the back of the room, together with Badeea and Talbott.

You were left dumbstruck. You wanted to converse with Rowan who was right beside you, wanting to ask if they had probably heard your talk with Diego. You made a face in the end, looking over to your companion. They were murmuring their notes, almost as if they were chanting it like a mantra while they were eyeing their papers on the table with a murdering intent.

You fiddled with your hands instead, deep in thought. What was that response coming from Diego? Was he attempting to ask out the blonde beforehand? Did he know that something was up? Were you too–

You pinched the bridge of your nose, an unpleasant feeling bubbling from your chest. It was jealousy, and it was stupid.

"(Y/N)?"

You suppressed a grumble, your eyes meeting with blue orbs. You didn't even notice her coming your way, were you really that in your head? Penny looked at you, worried. You licked your lips as they were beginning to get dry, "It's nothing." You wanted to dodge any attempt of her to get through you this time.

The former crossed her arms and she was gazing at you with such a soft expression that it nearly made your heart burst. "Something _is_ bothering you, but I won't ask any more questions. The least I can do is make you feel better. Sit with me?"

"But isn't Barnaby sitting with you?"

"He's with Ismelda and Merula right now, silly. Now come on, let me share with you some juicy gossip that I heard!" Penny held onto your arm as you stood up from your seat.

It felt comforting.

You waved goodbye to Rowan and sat next to Penny on the front row of the class. Just as you made yourself comfortable, the hairs on the back of your neck stood up. You sensed that the rest of the people in the room were watching you two intently, which was weird.

You then felt a finger poking your cheek. "Eyes on me, buddy." She beamed at you and you swore to the Heavens above, if it did exist, that you were thankful to have been blessed by this site.

Thisisbadthisisbadthisisbadthisisbad—

Not only that, even though this may seem entirely different, it still felt all too familiar.

Your stomach felt sick from butterflies erupting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel bad for not updating sooner. I'm sorry, that was completely unfair of me. Either way, I hope you guys enjoy it despite it being shorter this time around! Consider it as your early Christmas present :)) Stay safe and healthy as well.
> 
> Comments and kudos are appreciated! Thank you once more.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for taking your time to read the first part of this fic! English isn't my first language, so I apologize for that. 
> 
> Next update will be posted soon enough :))
> 
> Kudos and comments are appreciated!


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